A new version of the 'Compact' was published, setting out how public and third sector organisations in England should work with each other. The new document was greatly simplified, and codes of practice removed altogether. It was broken down into three areas covering policy development, resource allocation, and equality.
Source: The Compact: The Compact on relations between Government and the Third Sector in England, Office of the Third Sector/Cabinet Office
Links: Compact | Cabinet Office press release | New Start report
Date: 2009-Dec
The government published its response to a taskforce report (published in July 2009) on joint working between government, businesses, and the third sector aimed at supporting communities under stress as a result of the economic recession.
Source: Building Stronger Communities Taskforce: Government Response, Cabinet Office
Links: Response | Cabinet Office press release | Taskforce report
Date: 2009-Dec
The government announced the creation of an independent 'Commission on Ownership', which would look at how to encourage public service delivery by employee- or community-owned enterprises.
Source: Press release 15 December 2009, Cabinet Office
Links: Cabinet Office press release | Oxford University press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | New Start report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Dec
A think-tank report examined the potential for individuals, local community groups, and social enterprises to work alongside local public agencies to deliver better outcomes.
Source: Vicki Savage with Carmel O'Sullivan, Geoff Mulgan and Rushanara Ali, Public Services and Civil Society Working Together: An initial think piece, Young Foundation (020 8980 6263)
Links: Report | Guardian report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Nov
A report examined alternative practices in capacity-building found in the public and private sector, and how these could be used to benefit third sector organizations.
Source: Alternative Approaches to Capacity Building: Practices in the public and private sectors, Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research/Middlesex University Business School and Third Sector Research Centre/University of Birmingham
Links: Report | TSRC press release
Date: 2009-Nov
A report examined recent research evidence on the third sector in Scotland, and identified the ways in which it contributed to the Scottish Government's five strategic objectives.
Source: Rod Dacombe and Stephen Bach, The Evidence Base for Third Sector Policy in Scotland: A review of selected recent literature, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2009-Oct
A report said that despite the economic recession charities, social enterprises, and voluntary organizations in Scotland were still an innovative force, particularly in public service delivery.
Source: The Third Sector: Discussions Around Key Public Policy Issues, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report | ESRC press release
Date: 2009-Oct
A report summarized a series of seminars that explored the dynamics of bridging social capital in a number of different contexts. Themes included diversity and social cohesion, intergenerational connexions, and dimensions of equality.
Source: Altogether Now? The role and limits of civil society associations in connecting a diverse society, Carnegie UK Trust (01383 721445)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Sep
A report by an independent taskforce said that businesses, the government, and the third sector needed to develop stronger and more innovative partnerships in order to provide real and practical help for communities at risk of fracture due to the recession.
Source: Building Stronger Communities Taskforce, Business and the Third Sector: Innovation in Tough Times, Office of the Third Sector/Cabinet Office (020 7276 6400)
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release
Date: 2009-Jul
Consultation began on the draft of a 'refreshed' national Compact on relations between the government and the third sector in England. The existing five codes of conduct would be abolished.
Source: Refreshing the Compact: A framework for partnership working, Commission for the Compact (0121 237 5905)
Links: Consultation document | Hansard
Date: 2009-Jul
The Commission for the Compact published its annual report for 2008-09. (The Commission is an independent public body responsible for overseeing and promoting use of the Compact – an agreement setting out shared commitments and guidelines for working between government and the voluntary/community sector in England.)
Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2008-09, HC 536, Commission for the Compact, TSO (0870 600 5522
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Jun
An article examined partnership regimes between the third sector and the state in welfare-to-work regimes in Britain and Germany. The emerging managerialist partnership structures were tending to convert third sector organizations into 'just in time' deliverers of programmes, while also eroding their distinctive potential to provide more than mere labour market integration.
Source: Ingo Bode and Mike Aiken, 'Killing the golden goose? Third sector organizations and back-to-work programmes in Germany and the UK', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 43 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Jun
An article examined the effect on voluntary sector workers of attempts to encourage long-term collaborative contracting relationships, designed to protect the employment conditions of staff, when outsourcing public services. It concluded that, in terms of bringing income security to the voluntary sector and stability to employment terms and conditions, these efforts had been unsuccessful.
Source: Ian Cunningham and Philip James, 'The outsourcing of social care in Britain: what does it mean for voluntary sector workers?', Work, Employment and Society, Volume 23 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Jun
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a new strategy designed to engage with and support the voluntary and community sector.
Source: Third Sector Strategy, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (020 7211 6200)
Links: Strategy | DCMS press release
Date: 2009-May
A report examined how civil society associations understood and operationalized the concept of social justice. It considered what distinguished civil society associations from organizations in the public and private sectors, and the obstacles that they encountered in operating as social justice organizations.
Source: Gary Craig, Civil Society Associations and the Values of Social Justice, Carnegie UK Trust (01383 721445)
Date: 2009-May
A report examined the risks that some third sector organizations perceived from personal budgets – as well as the opportunities for them to gain greater independence from local authorities, take on new roles, expand the types of services offered, and enjoy increased demand.
Source: David Challis, Caroline Glendinning, Craig Dearden-Phillips, Lesley Anne Murphy and Steven Rose, The Impact of Personal Budgets on Third Sector Providers of Social Care, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-May
A report examined how social mobility related to equality, and how it affected children's and young people's life-chances, aspirations, and personal and social development – focusing on the role of the voluntary and community sector.
Source: Children and Young People's Social Mobility, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (020 7278 1041)
Links: Report | NCVYS press release | YMCA press release
Date: 2009-Apr
A report said that charities often played a crucial role in helping prisoners to tackle their problems, and in reducing reoffending rates among ex-prisoners.
Source: Adrian Fradd and Rebecca Wyton, Breaking the Cycle: Charities working with people in prison and on release – An update for donors, funders and charities, New Philanthropy Capital (0207 401 8080)
Links: NPC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Apr
An article examined how far voluntary sector expertise was valued in helping offenders into employment. There was limited scope to adopt practices that were informed by knowledge about 'what works' in getting people into employment. A less prescriptive approach from the centre about what should be delivered, and how, would restore effective teamwork and might also open up probation practice to empirical and theoretical insights into the 'desistance process'.
Source: Julie Vennard and Carol Hedderman, 'Helping offenders into employment: how far is voluntary sector expertise valued in a contracting-out environment?', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 9 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
An article examined, from a third sector perspective, the increasing requirement for public agencies to collaborate with non-state providers in the delivery of welfare services. There had been some progress in supporting community services in deprived areas: but the continuing emphasis on competitive contracts and centrally driven frameworks undermined collaborative work and community trust. Such mechanisms might serve short-term state interests, but they devalued the very community-level work that was being promoted to address challenging social problems.
Source: Linda Milbourne, 'Remodelling the third sector: advancing collaboration or competition in community-based initiatives?', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 38 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
An audit report said that two programmes aimed at building capacity in the third sector – ChangeUp and Futurebuilders – had had a positive impact on frontline third sector organizations, but had not yet demonstrated value for money.
Source: Building the Capacity of the Third Sector, HC 132 (Session 2008-09), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | NAVCA press release | New Start report
Date: 2009-Feb
An annual report provided in-depth analysis and data on a broad range of third sector groups, societies, and organizations.
Source: David Kane et al., UK Civil Society Almanac 2009, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: Summary | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Feb
A taskforce report examined the role of the third sector in welfare-to-work reform. There was 'strong evidence' for the sector's ability to engage the hardest to reach; and it was unlikely that the government's aspirations for reaching these people, such as those in receipt of incapacity benefit, would be achieved without the strong involvement of the sector. The report called for a £250 million social investment bank to transform the role of the third sector in the delivery of public services.
Source: Third Sector Taskforce, The Potential Role for the Third Sector in Welfare to Work Reform, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (0845 345 8481) and Department for Work and Pensions
Links: LinksUK press release | Groundwork press release | CAF press release | New Start report
Date: 2009-Feb